Adjustable bracket.



I. FILSON.

ADJUSTABLE BRACKET. APPLICATION FILED rm. a, 1908.

901,700. Patented Oct. 20, 1908.

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I. FILSON. ADJUSTABLE BRACKET.

APPLICATION FILED rm. 3, 190a.

Patented 0et.20,1908.

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IRA FILSON, OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO.

ADJUSTABLE BRACKET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 20, 1908.

Application filed February 3, 1908. Serial No. 413,993.

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that I, IRA FILsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Clark and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Adjustable Brackets, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to adjustable brackets, and more particularly to adjustable brackets such as are used in connection with extensible supports for telephones and the like.

The object of the invention is to provide a bracket of this character which can be readily adjusted to support the instrument at the desired height and which will positively hold the instrument in the adjusted position; which will automatically release said holding mechanism as the support ap proaches its uppermost position and will again move said holding mechanism into operative position as the support approaches its lowermost position; and further, to so construct such a device that it will contain a minimum number of parts, will be simple in construction and operation and, there fore, not liable to become disarranged, and rendering the same strong and durable and capable of being manufactured at a low cost.

With these objects in view my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and in certain parts and combinations hereinafter to be described, and then more particularly pointed out in the claims.

I n the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of an adjustable bracket embodying myinvention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, with one side of the housing broken away, showing the movable member in its elevated position; Fig. 3 is a detail view of the detent; and

Fig. 4: is a side elevation of a modified form of the device.

My invention consists of a fixed member adapted to be secured to a suitable support and a movable member pivotally connected to said fixed member, one of said members being provided with a detent which is adapted to be supported either in an operative or an inoperative position and the other of said members having teeth or stops adapted to engage said detent when the same is in its operative position, and means for automatically moving said detent into its inoperative position as said movable member approaches its uppermost position and other means for restoring said detent to its operative position as said movable member reaches its lowermost position.

In the drawings, I have illustrated the preferred form of my invention, in which I have shown the fixed member as comprising a housing 1, preferably consisting of two plates 2 of sheet metal or other suitable material secured together at their rear ends and provided with suitable means for securing the same to a standard or support. In the present instance, I have designed the bracket for use with the well known supporting standard or post and have, therefore, shown the same as equipped with bearing sleeves or tubes 3 which are formed by bond ing a strip of sheet metal to form a tube and then bringing the ends together between the rear ends of the side members 2 of the housing 1 and securing the same therein by means of rivets l, thus spacing the side members 2 a proper distance apart and providing the same with the desired supporting members. A suitable detent is supported by the fixed member or housing in such a man ner. as to enable the same to be moved bodily into any one of a plurality of positions. To this end I prefer to provide the fixed member 01 housing with a guideway having a plurality of supports for the detent. In the present instance, this guideway consists of an aperture or vertical slot 5 extending through both the side plates of said housing and having a recess near the upper end thereof, preferably consisting of a rearwardly and downwardly extending slot 6, the lower end of which lies in a considerably higher plane than the lower end of the vertical slot 5, thus forming a plurality of supports for the detent which is loosely mounted in the vertical slot 5 and is adapted to be moved bodily from one of said supports to the other. This detent is indicated as a whole by the reference numeral 7 and preferably consists of a transverse member or bar 8 having stops at its opposite ends to retain the detent within the slot, and is here shown as a substantially Ushaped member formed of spring wire or other suitable material. The upper end or transverse bar 8 of the detent is preferably straight and at substantially right angles to the side members thereof, thus enabling the detent to be inserted in the slot by springing the side members apart and inserting one of the same through the slot and then releasing said members, which, in their normal position, lie so close to the sides of the housing as to prevent the removal of the detent from the slot.

The movable member 9 of the bracket preferably consists of a plate of sheet metal, or other suitable material, pivotally connected to the fixed member or housing preferably by inserting the same between the side members thereof and securing the same in position by a suitable rivet 10. This mov able member is adapted to be connected at its outer end to a suitable supporting device, such as the ordinary extensible bracket which is used for supporting a telephone instrument. The movable member is preferably provided with suitable teeth adapted to engage the detent 7 and hold the movable mem her in its adjusted position. These teeth are preferably mounted on the upper side of the plate 9 near the rear end thereof in the form of a segment, as shown at 11, the teeth being so arranged relatively to the pivotal center of the plate that each of said teeth will travel in the same circular path, and, during such t 'avel, will intersect the lower end of the vertical slot 5 and therefore will engage the detent 7 when the same is in its operative position in said vertical slot. These teeth, however, do not intersect the recess or slot 6. The movable member is also provided with suitable means for moving the detent to its inoperative position, which means preferably consists in an upwardly inclined portion 12 located near the forward end of said toothed portion of the plate 9, and, in the present instance, extending forwardly and slightly upwardly from the last tooth of said toothed portion. As the outer end of the plate 9 is elevated and the last tooth passes the detent 7, the inclined portion 12 of the plate engages beneath said detent, moves the same upwardly to a point above the point of intersection of the vertical slot 5 and the rearwardly extending recess or slot 6 and causes the same to move into said recess. This movement may be facilitated, if desired, by extending that portion of the plate lying near the end of the inclined portion 12 up wardly and rear-wardly at an angle to said portion, as shown at 13, thus causing the same to positively move the detent into the recess 6.

lVith the detent in the recess 6, or in its inoperative position, the plate 9 is free to move downwardly, the teeth 11 passing beneath the detent. Suitable means are also provided on the movable member or plate 9 for releasing the detent from the recess and moving the same into its operative position as the plate approaches the limit of its downward movement. This means preferably comprises a projection or enlarged tooth 1 1 located near the rear end of the toothed portion of said plate, preferably immediately beyond the last tooth of said toothed portion and extending beyond the path of the teeth 11. This tooth preferably has its upper endinclined downwardly and forwardly, as shown at 15, to form an engaging surface. As the plate 9 moves downwardly, the upper end of the tooth 14L approaches the detent 7, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and the beveled end 15 of said tooth engages the detent 7 and moves the same upwardly and forwardly out of said recess and into the vertical slot 5, where the same moves downwardly by its own weight into its operative position where it is adapted to again engage the teeth of the movable member to hold said movable member in its adjusted position. Thus it will be seen that when the detent 7 is in its operative position in the vertical slot, the support carried by the movable member 9 may be moved upwardly to the desired height, and, when released, will be retained in that adjusted position by the engagement of the adjacent tooth 11 of said movable member with the detent 7. lVhen it is desired to lower the support, the same is moved upwardly and the inclined portion 12 of the movable member brought into engagement with the detent 7, moving the same into its inoperative position in the rearwardly extending recess or slot (5, where it retained by its own weight until it is positively released. \Vith the detent in this position, the movable member and the support carried thereby are free to move downwardly, and, as .the same approaches the limit of its downward movement, the enlarged tooth or projection 1-1, which extends beyond the path of the teeth 11, engages the detent 7 as it lies in the recess 6 and moves the same upwardly and forwardly out of the recess 6 and into the vertical slot 5, permitting the same to move by gravity into its operative position in the lower portion of said slotand again enabling the bracket to be moved upwardly and secured at any desired point.

.Vhile I have shown the movable member 9 moving through a comparatively small number of degrees of a circle, it will he understood that when the supporting arm is extended to its full length, which is usually about eighteen inches, that the are through which the instrun'ient supported on the outer end of said arm will be moved will be of considerable length, and the number of degrees contained in this are can, of course, be adjusted to adapt the bracket to particular conditions. Thus, it will be seen that 1 have provided an adjustable bracket which can be moved to any desired position and which will be positively held in that position until released therefrom; that such holding mechanism is released by moving the supporting arm upwardly to the limit of its movement, and, when so released, is free to move clownwardly without interruption; and that the holding mechanism is automatically moved into its operative position as the support approaches its lowermost position. Further, it will be apparent that this adjustable bracket, comprising as it does but a minimum number of parts, is very simple in its construction and operation and is not liable to become disarranged or inoperative; and that the parts composing the same are of such a construction as to be easily formed of sheet metal, thus enabling the bracket to be manufactured at a low cost and rendering the same strong and durable.

In Fig. 4 of the drawings, I have shown a form of the device which enables the same to be interposed between the extensible arm and standard of a well known telephone support. This support comprises an upright standard 16 adapted to be secured to a disk or other suitable support and having its upper end reduced, as shown at 17, and adapted to receive a sleeve 18 provided with a bracket 19, to which is secured the extensible arm 20 which carries the telephone instrument. Y This sleeve is removably mounted on the reduced portion 17 of the standard and is secured thereon by a suitable stop, such as a thumb bolt 21. In that form of my device which is here shown, a fixed member 22 is provided with a sleeve or socket 23 adapted to fit over the reduced upper por tion of the standard 16, while the movable member 24 has secured to the forward portion thereof an upwardly extending post 25 adapted to fit within the sleeve 18 of the bracket 19 and provided at its upper end with a suitable thumb bolt 26 for securing the sleeve thereon. By means of this construction it will be apparent that my device may be interposed between the two parts of a non-adjustable telephone bracket, thereby rendering the same vertically adjustable, and further that by so interposing my device between the members of the well known form of support I greatly reduce the cost of installation and enable my device to be used in connection with supports already in use.

While I have shown the device adapted to be attached to one form of support, it will be obvious that the same can be readily m0di fied and adapted for use with many other forms of brackets and, therefore, I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an adjustable bracket, the combination, with a fixed member, and a movable member, one of said members having a plurality of supports arranged one above the other, of a detent adapted to be loosely mounted on one of saidsupports, a tooth carried by the other of said members and adapted to engage said detent when the same is mounted upon the lower support, means for moving said detent onto the upper support, and means for restoring the same to the lower support.

2. In an adjustable bracket, the combination, with a fixed member and a movable member, one of said members having a slot therein, said slot having a recess in one of the walls thereof, a detent mounted in said slot, and a part carried by the other member adapted to engage said detent, of means for moving said detent into said recess as said movable member approaches one limit of its movement.

3. In an adjustable bracket, the combination, with a fixed member and a movable member, one of said members having a slot therein, said slot having a recess in one of the walls thereof, a detent mounted in said slot, and a part carried by the other member adapted to engage said detent, of means for moving said detent into said recess as said movable member approaches one limit of its movement, and other means for moving said detent out of said recess and into said slot as said movable member approaches the opposite limit of its movement.

4. In an adjustable bracket, the combination, with a fixed member having a slot therein, said slot having a recess in one wall thereof, and a detent mounted in said slot, of a movable member having a toothed portion adapted to engage said detent when the same is in said slot, and means located near one end of said toothed portion adapted to engage said detent as said movable member approaches one limit of its movement and move said detent into said recess.

5. In an adjustable bracket, the combine. tion, with a fixed member having a vertical slot therein, said slot having a recess in the rear wall thereof, and a detent mounted in said slot, of a movable member having a toothed portion, and means located near the forward end of said toothed portion adapted to engage said detent as said movable member approaches the limit of its upward movement and move said detent into said recess.

6. In an adjustable bracket, the combination, with a fixed member having a vertical slot therein, said slot having a recess in the rear wall thereof, and a detent mounted in said slot, of a movable member having a toothed portion, means located near the forward end of said toothed portion and adapted to engage said detent as said movable member approaches the limit of its upward movement and move said detent into said recess, and means near the rear of said toothed portion adapted to engage said detent as said movable member approaches the limit of its downward movement and release said detent from said recess.

7. In an adjustable bracket, the combination, with a. housing having a vertical slot therein, a second slot extending downwardly and rearwardly from said vertical slot, and a detent mounted in said vertical slot, of a movable member pivotally mounted in said housing and having a toothed portion adapted to cooperate with said detent, and means for moving said detent out of the path of said toothed portion.

8. In an adjustable bracket, the combination, with a housing having a vertical slot therein, said vertical slot having a recess in the rear wall thereof, of a detent mounted in said vertical slot and comprising a substantially U-shaped member extending through the sat re and extending on opposite sides of said housin and a movable member ha virg a toothed portion adapted to cooperate with said detent.

9. In a. device of the character described, the combination, with an upright post, an arm, and a sleeve carried by said arm, of a bracket comprising a member having a sleeve adapted to engage said upright post, and a second member movably mounted on said first-mentioned member and having an upright post adapted to engage the sleeve on said arm, and means tor automatically securing said mo alsle member in its adjusted 'position relatively to said firstanentioned member.

10. An adjustable bracket comprising a plurality of members, one of said members be'ng movable relatively to another of said members and one of said members having a guideway, said guideway having a plurality of supports, a detent movably mounted in said guideway, and a part carried by another ot said members adapted to engage said detent, of means for moving said detent from one of said supports to another of said supports as said movable member approaches one limit of its movement.

11. An adjustable bracket comprising a plurality of members, one of said members being movable relatively to another of said members and one of said members having a vertically arranged guideway, said guideway having a. plurality of supports arranged in different horizontal planes, a detent movably mounted in said guideway, and a part carried by another of said members adapted to engage said detent, of means for moving said detent from one of said supports to another of said supports as said movable member approaches one limit of its movement.

12. An adjustable bracket comprising a plurality of members, one of said members being movable relatively to another of said members and one of said members having a slot therein, said slot having a recess in one of the walls thereof, a detentmounted in said slot, and a part carried by another of said members adapted to engage said detent, of means for movin said detent into said recess said movable member approaches one limit of its movement.

13. An adjustable bracket comprising a plurality of members, one of said members being movable relatively to another of said members, and one of said members having a slot therein, said slot being provided, at a point removed from the lower end thereof, with a support, a detent mounted in said slot, :1 part carried by the other of said members adapted to engage said detent, and means for moving said detent into engagement with said support as said movable member approaches one limit of its movement.

In testimony whereof, I altix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

IRA FILSON.

li itnesses N. C. LINK, HARRIET L. I'IAMMAKER. 

